Red Sea crisis strands Australian sheep, cows

SYDNEY: Australian welfare groups are demanding the release of thousands of sheep and cattle stuck aboard a ship after their trip to the Middle East was diverted by Yemen’s Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea.

The livestock — reportedly more than 15,000 animals, mostly sheep — have spent about four weeks aboard the MV Bahijah since setting sail from Fremantle, Perth, in Western Australia, last January 5.

The ship abandoned its plan to voyage through the Red Sea because of the “worsening security situation” there and was directed to return to Australia, the Department of Agriculture said in a statement.

It docked back in Fremantle on Thursday after reaching the Western Australian coast earlier in the week.

Two veterinarians this week reported “no significant animal health or welfare issues” aboard the ship, the government department said.

The animals were said to have been exposed to “cumulative stress” during their long trip, said RSPCA Australia chief science officer Suzanne Fowler.

She cited the movement of the ship, the risk of disease, and conditions aboard, including the heat, with temperatures in Fremantle reaching about 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday.

“We would not support them being re-exported in any way,” she said, after the government said it was considering an application to do so by the exporter, identified in Australian media as Israeli-based Bassem Dabbah.

It is a “horrific, terrible plan,” Fowler said.

“They have already suffered enough. It is not fair on the animals. They are sentient beings and suffer from pain and distress.”

Animal rights activists Peta Australia published an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday, saying it was “disgusted and ashamed” by the stranding of the livestock. It said there were 16,500 cows and sheep on the vessel.